The review workflow lets your team check every response before the project goes back to the Requestor. Each question can have two roles assigned to it. The Subject Matter Expert (SME) writes the response, and the Reviewer checks it and either approves it or sends it back for changes.
Roles in the Review Workflow
- SME: adds the response to the question and marks it as final when ready for review. Once a response is marked as final, the SME cannot change it unless the Reviewer sends it back.
- Reviewer: approves, rejects, or edits the response. The Reviewer can also leave review comments and reset the review process.
Assigning SMEs and Reviewers
SMEs and Reviewers can be individual users or user roles. User roles are managed in Firm Settings > User Roles. Assigning roles rather than individuals keeps assignments in place when people change.
Navigation path
Open the project and select the Questionnaire tab, then go to More > Assign SME(s) & Reviewer(s). To assign one sub-category only, click the assignment icon next to the sub-category name. The window opens with that sub-category already selected.
Assign SME(s) & Reviewer(s) under More
Assigning SMEs
- On the Assign SME(s) tab, tick the category, sub-category, or individual questions in the panel on the right. The number of selected questions appears at the bottom left, for example 41 Question(s) Selected.
- Use Applied To to narrow the selection to All Questions, Mandatory Questions, Unassigned Questions, or Unanswered Questions.
- Choose the SMEs in Select SME/Team Member or User Role. User roles can be added or managed in Firm Settings > User Roles.
- Enter a number in Time to Complete and choose Day(s) or Week(s). The Project Due Date is shown above the field and the calculated Due on date below it.
- Click Assign SME(s) to assign SMEs only, or click Next (or the Assign Reviewer(s) tab) to assign Reviewers as well. Assign & Add More saves the current selection and keeps the window open so you can assign other questions.
- SMEs cannot be added or changed on questions where the review process has already started.
Assign SME(s) tab with the question selection panel
Assigning Reviewers
- The Assign Reviewer(s) tab applies to the questions selected on the Assign SME(s) tab. The review process begins once the SMEs submit their final responses for review.
- From the dropdown at the top, keep New Review, or choose to copy Reviewers from another project or apply a saved review definition from Firm Settings.
- Under STEP 1, choose the Reviewer in Select Reviewer. Tick Set individual due dates and optional reviewer(s) if needed.
- Set Time to Complete in Day(s) or Week(s).
- Click Add Step 2 to add another review step, for example a team lead followed by compliance sign-off. Each step has its own Reviewer and turnaround.
- Click Save & Assign to save the SME and Reviewer assignments together. Assign & Add More saves the current selection and keeps the window open, and Previous returns to the Assign SME(s) tab.
Assign Reviewer(s) tab with Step 1 set up
Approving or Rejecting a Response
Navigation path
From the left navigation panel, go to Diligence > Projects, open the project, then select the Questionnaire tab.
- Locate a question with the In Review status. The All Reviewers Assigned and My Tasks filters at the top of the page help you find questions waiting on you.
- Read the response. The date shown beside Review by is when your review is due.
- Click Approve to accept the response. The status changes to Approved.
- Click Request Revision to send the response back to the SME. The status changes to Revision Requested.
- To act on every question in a sub-category at once, use Request Revisions or Approve next to the sub-category name, for example Firm Overview.
Approve and Request Revision on a response in review
Editing a Response as a Reviewer
Reviewers can also edit the response directly. Click the edit (pencil) icon on the question to open the response in the editor and make your changes.
Updating a Response After a Revision Request
When a Reviewer requests a revision, the response opens again for the SME and shows the Revision Requested status.
- Open the question and update the response in the editor.
- Click the Send back to review icon next to the status to return the response to the Reviewer.
- The response moves back to In Review and the Reviewer can approve or reject it again.
SME sends an updated response back for review
Suggesting Changes with Track Changes
Track changes lets the SME make edits that stay visible as suggestions, so the Reviewer can decide which ones to keep.
For the SME
- In the response editor, click the track changes icon in the toolbar and turn on the Track changes toggle.
- Edit the response as usual. Deleted text is shown struck through, and added text is highlighted.
For the Reviewer
- Open the track changes dropdown in the editor toolbar.
- Click Accept all suggestions to keep every change, or Discard all suggestions to remove them.
- To act on part of the text only, select it and click Accept all selected suggestions or Discard all selected suggestions.
Track changes options in the response editor
Leaving Review Comments
Review comments let you raise a point on a response without editing it.
- Click the review comments icon on the question. A count on the icon shows how many comments the question already has.
- The Review Comments tab opens in the panel on the right, next to Internal Notes, with the question shown at the top.
- Click the add comment icon to post a new comment. Others can reply to it using the Reply box under the comment.
- Use the Unresolved and Resolved tabs to switch between open and closed comments.
- Click the tick on a comment to resolve it, or Resolve All Comments to close every comment on the question. Use the arrow buttons to move between questions with comments.
Review Comments panel with an unresolved comment
Viewing the Review Audit Trail
Every approval and rejection is recorded, so you can always see who reviewed a response and when.
- Click Review Status on the question. The Review Status panel opens on the right.
- The panel shows the question, each review step, the Reviewers on that step, their decision such as Approved, and the date and time of the review under Reviewed on.
- Click Update Reviewer in the panel to change who reviews the response.
- The history icon at the bottom left of the question, with its count, opens the change history of the response.
Review Status panel showing the reviewer, decision, and review date
Resetting the Review Process
If an approved response needs to go through review again, the Reviewer can reset it.
- On the approved question, click the reset icon. The tooltip reads Reset the review process for this response.
- The review cycle for that response starts again.
Reset the review process for an approved response
Cancelling the Review Process
To stop the review process, remove the SMEs and Reviewers assigned to the questions.
- On the Questionnaire tab, click More at the top right of the project.
- Select Delete Reviewer(s) to remove the Reviewers, and Delete SME(s) to remove the SMEs.
- Once no SME or Reviewer is assigned, the questions are no longer part of the review workflow.
Delete Reviewer(s) and Delete SME(s) under More
Tips and Things to Know
- Mark a response as final only when it is ready. After that, only a Reviewer's revision request reopens it for the SME.
- Ask SMEs to turn on track changes when editing a response that has already been reviewed, so the Reviewer can see exactly what changed.
- Check the Review Status panel before submitting to confirm every step has been approved.
- Use reset rather than editing an approved response quietly, so the change goes through review and is recorded in the audit trail.
Example Use Case
An investor relations team is completing an annual DDQ. The analyst is assigned as SME on the Firm Overview questions and the head of IR as Reviewer. The analyst writes the responses and marks them final. The head of IR approves most of them, but clicks Request Revision on the firm history answer because the founding date is missing. The analyst turns on track changes, adds the date, and clicks Send back to review. The Reviewer accepts the suggestion and approves the response, and the Review Status panel records both decisions with dates before the project is submitted.
Need Help?
For any questions or concerns, please reachout to our support team at ask@diligencevault.com